


divine conversations

by joshriku



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Character Study, Friendship, Gen, Not A New Day Compliant, Post-Canon, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:27:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25083109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshriku/pseuds/joshriku
Summary: A week after the Game finishes, Neku swings by WildKat to talk about Joshua.
Relationships: Hanekoma Sanae & Sakuraba Neku, Kiryu "Joshua" Yoshiya & Sakuraba Neku
Comments: 13
Kudos: 46





	divine conversations

After catching Rhyme up with the weeks she was missing from the Reaper’s Game, it becomes harder to not address the glaring elephant in the room. It weighs heavy and it’s hard to not make the connection on who Neku hasn’t mentioned yet—especially when Beat and Shiki had been at the Room of Reckoning, too. He pretends to not see his friends exchanging glances, like wondering whether or not to ask Neku about Joshua.

Finally, Shiki (of course it’s her who decides to) asks him, “Hey, Neku. About that guy at the end… was he the Composer? You seemed like you knew him.”

“Yeah. He was my partner during the second week,” he explains. It’s bittersweet, if anything. “His name is Joshua.”

“Yo. I coulda  _ never  _ guess that prissy kid was the Composer.”

“Me neither,” Neku picks up a fry and eats it again. He’s been thinking about Joshua lately, this past week. Trying to understand everything that had happened, to connect all the meanings he might have overlooked in his past conversations with him. “It’s funny, when we were partnered, he kept saying he wanted to jack Shibuya. I thought he hated the Composer.”

“But  _ he’s  _ the Composer,” Rhyme says, “why would he want to do that?”

Isn’t that the million dollar question? Neku chuckles. Joshua had caused him so many headaches, figuratively and literally, but the biggest mystery was all of his actions during their week. He wishes there was a way to reach out to him—ask him about everything. He could get some closure, and maybe, he’d understand Joshua’s little secret garden a bit more.

He’s been looking out their food place every now and then, just in case he catches a glimpse of a familiar silhouette.

“Beats me,” Neku answers Rhyme. “Still… Joshua is my friend.”

And he is. That’s not a lie. Neku has no intentions of forgiving him, and knowing Joshua—if he actually  _ knew _ him at all—he might not regret his actions. Neku wouldn’t expect an apology from him of all people, and for their friendship (whatever their friendship was), it would be a little… weird, truthfully. If Joshua trusted Neku enough to bring him back from  _ death— _ for letting Shibuya see another day—then that had to count for something. Neku would consider it an apology if he was desperate.

Shiki still looks anguished: it’s so much like her to be worried over a guy she doesn’t know.

“There’s no way to contact him, right? I mean… duh. How do you even contact a guy like him?”

Beat sighs next to him. “Reapers don’ even know what the guy looks like. He got all the UG wrapped around his pinky—you bet your ass he’s outta reach.”

“At least I’d like to thank him,” Shiki says. “For letting us live in the end. I mean, he even brought Rhyme back!”

Neku sips his cola.  _ In the end.  _ He’s been pondering this for so long—did this end even justify him  _ killing  _ Neku? Briefly, he sees the same image Joshua had in his head: Neku sprawled out on the floor, dead. How far did Joshua’s means go to justify the end?

Unhelpfully, his brain offers him the memory of Joshua sacrificing himself for him. Did he mean anything he said? Why would he do all of that, if he didn’t care for Neku? Why bond with him? Why make the  _ effort?  _ If Neku was just his proxy, he could’ve cut him off. Kept him at arm’s length.

Mr. H’s words ring through his head.  _ He’s been alone all his life. _

Joshua  _ is  _ Neku’s friend. Perhaps, Neku was Joshua’s friend, too.

“Is this topic sensitive to you, Neku?” Shiki asks, kindly. Neku adores her. “I’m sorry we brought up.”

He waves his hand. “Don’t worry about it.” Smiling, he adds, “I was just reminiscing.”

His heart is pounding quickly in his chest. Neku wills it to calm down. Standing in front of WildKat, his hands start to sweat, and this is probably the most nervous he’s even been in his short fifteen years of life. This is CAT’s café.  _ CAT.  _ Neku hasn’t spoken to Mr. H properly since the Game ended—since he found out Mr. H is the one person he’s been looking up to this entire time. Man.  _ CAT.  _ He should’ve taken up Beat’s offer to join him to come meet him.

Here goes nothing…

Neku walks into WildKat, stomach sinking, anxiety rising.

“Hiya!” Mr. H, the one person he’s been too scared to see, says. He turns around, and once he recognizes Neku, the smile on his face is as warm and bright as ever. “Well, look who it is! Phones.”

“Er…” Say something. Say something. Not like that’s CAT or anything. Neku points at his neck. “Uh, no more phones.”

Mr. H takes a look and breaks into short laughter. “Who woulda thought, hm? Still, old habits die hard. What brings you here?”

Mr. H gestures at a table for Neku to sit down, and he does so, awkwardly. He’s been here many times, with and without Joshua, and yet… there is so much he wants to ask. He needs some explanations—about who Mr. H really is, about the third week, about the things he was up to… despite all, the first question he makes is:

“Is Joshua okay?”

That catches Mr. H off guard, genuinely. He walks over to where Neku is, sitting, like he’s about to deliver terrible news. Neku’s stomach twists nervously.

“Yeah. Josh is fine.”

Neku exhales, relieved.

“Mr. H,” he starts, tentative, clenching his fists. This next question weighs him to ask. Especially considering that Neku simply doesn’t know what answer he wants. “Did you know? Did you know that Joshua was going to kill me?”

The solemn expression that dawns on Mr. H’s face is just slightly terrifying. Neku stands his ground firm, though, even if he is about to overthink everything.

“… No,” he admits, at last. “The Composer had informed me he’d pick a proxy. When I met you, that was the first time I learned about you—didn’ have any clue until that moment.”

Neku doesn’t know if the answer makes him happy or not.

“The Composer…”

Maybe he hates the Composer. This product—this Divine presence—the Composer almost felt like a separate being from the Joshua he knew.

“Why did you ask for Joshua?” Mr. H asks, careful.

“Joshua is my friend,” Neku says, surprising himself at how much he believes that statement. When he lived the week with Joshua, certainly, it felt hard to call themselves  _ friends.  _ Not anymore. “I’d like to see him.”

“For what? An apology?”

Neku shakes his head. “I’ll never get an apology from that bastard. Even if he did—I wouldn’t accept it.”

Mr. H chuckles, “You’re saying some bold statements, Neku.”

“I mean… I don’t think I can forgive him. He  _ killed me.  _ He—he put me through all of that.” Neku swallows. “It’s complicated.”

“I understand.”

“It’s complicated, but I’m glad I went through it,” he continues. “For once, I feel like looking forward to things. I have  _ friends  _ now. And a new perspective on life. I feel… pretty epic. Somehow… in some way… that’s Joshua’s fault, too.”

“You’re not that far off, Neku,” Okay, maybe Neku is going to tell him to stick to Phones. It’s weird to hear his name from Mr. H. “The Composer—every one of his actions are for Shibuya. He acts based on his endless love for mankind, always thinking to benefit them. The Game is no exception to it. You grasped the purpose of it; the true meaning.”

“Acts motivated by love?” Neku snorts. “He made me run for fifteen minutes across Shibuya. I’d say he’s motivated by hate for humanity.”

That makes Mr. H burst out in laughter. “The description doesn’t line up once you know the guy, eh?”

“Tell me about it.” Neku still has so much to ask. Better stick to Joshua topics, or else, Neku won’t be able to sleep well. “Can… Is it possible to reach Joshua?”

“No. Not like this—unless he willingly chooses to reach out, you can’t see him.”

Neku sighs. He expected something like that, at least. “You still talk to him, right?”

“Yep.”

“Tell him…” Neku tries to think back of all the things he really wants to say. He pauses, knowing no matter how many words he has, Joshua might not believe him. He was never a fan of words. People could talk until their face was blue and never say the truth, he’d say. So Neku tries to keep it short and familiar. “Tell him I can’t forgive him. But he’s my partner, and I trust him. I’ll be at Hachiko, if he ever wants to say hi someday.”

“Mr. H,” Neku continues, “I also have questions for you. But that’s for another day.”

Mr. H looks  _ proud.  _ It’s weird and new—people normally aren’t proud of Neku. CAT was proud of him. That was freaking  _ rad.  _

“I’ll wait for ya,” Mr. H assures him. “I’ll pass your message to Josh.”

“Thank you,” Neku says, sincerely. “See you soon, Mr. H.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i think... joshua and neku's friendship is super curious. and the "i cant forgive you, but i trust you" line has stuck with me for seven long years. joshneku best friends in some world i will stand my ground forever. i slso think their friendship is so layered sometimes. its Very Gray and i love it
> 
> ty for reading ^^ 
> 
> [tumblr](http://joshrikus.tumblr.com/)  
> [twitter](http://twitter.com/joshriku/)  
> 


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